European sports entertainment company Euromatch has announced a $7.5 million investment to sponsor the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) over a three-year period.
The partnership, which will see Euromatch provide $2.5 million annually, was unveiled during a ceremony in Abuja where the company was officially introduced as the title sponsor of the league.
Group Chairman of Euromatch, Sacli Semih, said the decision to invest in Nigerian football was influenced by the country’s economic opportunities and the wealth of football talent available locally.
Semih described Nigeria as a strategic market for the company, noting that Africa is becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing regions for sports entertainment.
“We are a growing sports entertainment brand from Europe, and football is our core product. Africa is one of the fastest-growing markets, and Nigeria is the heart of Africa,” he said.
He said Euromatch believes Nigerian footballers are among the most underrated talents globally and that the NPFL has significant potential for commercial growth.
According to him, the company expects the partnership to generate greater impact from the second year as the league improves in quality, visibility and organisation.
Semih said the sponsorship would focus on raising the international profile of the NPFL and helping it achieve standards comparable with major leagues around the world.
“When we transfer the Nigerian league to European standards, under the name Euromatch NPFL, the visibility of the league in Europe alone will increase,” he said.
He added that the partnership would create more opportunities for Nigerian players by exposing them to international audiences.
“There are so many players playing in England and other top leagues, but nobody comes to watch the league here. So, we are going to help people see the league,” Semih said.
The Chairman of the NPFL, Gbenga Elegbeleye, described the sponsorship as a major achievement in efforts to transform and reposition Nigeria’s domestic football competition.
Elegbeleye said the investment would improve the league’s visibility, attract more fans to stadiums and create better opportunities for emerging Nigerian football talents.
He said the NPFL had recorded progress in increasing match attendance and improving its operations, adding that more reforms were underway to raise standards.
The NPFL chairman also revealed plans to strengthen club licensing regulations to ensure better organisation and professionalism among participating teams.
He noted that Euromatch’s strong digital presence would help the league reach a wider international audience.
According to him, the company recorded more than three billion global views in one season, including about 101 million YouTube views from Nigeria.
Elegbeleye said the partnership would help showcase Nigerian footballers and create greater global recognition for the domestic league.
“What we are doing is more visibility for the youth, and that is why we are here. We want to demonstrate the capacity of what we can do,” he said.
President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, welcomed the sponsorship, describing it as evidence that ongoing efforts to stabilise and reposition the NPFL were attracting positive results.
Gusau said consistency and stability were essential to attracting long-term investment into Nigerian football.
He noted that investors would be reluctant to support a league without predictable scheduling, structure and operational stability.
According to him, improvements in visibility, organisation and standards would continue to increase the commercial value of the NPFL.
The 2026/2027 NPFL season is expected to begin on Friday.
